Campaigner welcomes plans to get more police officers back on the streets

A campaigner has welcomed a restructure of Essex Police that will see officers returning to the streets.

On Monday, Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh announced plans to move 500 officers out of central hubs and specialist teams and into specific communities.

Despite the change of priority, 60 police officer posts are being cut, mainly from road policing and firearms units, as part of the changes introduced to save £3million a year.

Two hundred officers, 100 PCSOs and hundreds of police staff positions are also at risk, while more stations will also close in the next two years.

The move back towards visible policing has been welcomed by campaigner Simon Edney, who set up a petition asking for more resources on the streets across the county, as well as a Facebook campaign group, More Police Resources Needed in the Halstead.